Rail-joint.



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mi mm STATES PAENT OFFIOE.

lWILLIAM DAVES, OF BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNEASSIGNMENTS, OF ONE-THIRD TO W. A. FREESE, OF BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS,ONE-THIRD TO Gr. W. QUAOKENBUSI-I, OF

' MARSHALL, MISSOURI, AND ILLINOIS.

ONE-THIRD TO O. A. KING, OF CHICAGO,

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 13, 1905. Serial No. 249,780.

To all wlw/11a t may concern:

j Be it known that I, WILLIAM DAvns, a citiaen of the United States,residing at Bloommgton, in the county of McLean and State of Illinois,have invented a new and useful Rail- Joint, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates particularly to railjoints in that class ofconstruction where the track-rails are laid with abutting ends meetingin a transverse plane, involving the use of ordinary rather than specialrails.

My primary obj ect is to make provision in this class of constructionagainst objectionable relative movement of the parts of the joint, sothat, in effect, the benefits of a continuous rail are obtained withoutthe necessity of employing specially-prepared rails, thereby insuringgreater economy in construction and greater durability in use.

The invention is illustrated in its preferred embodiment in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure l represents a transversesection of the improved joint taken as indicated at line 1 of Fig. 2and. Fig. 2 a view, partly in plan and partly in section, the sectionbeing taken as indicated at line 2 of Fig. l.

In the preferred construction A A represent rails having adjacent endssquared and abutting or, if desired, separated slightly in the usualmannerto allow for expansion; B B', fishplates of special construction,which cross the meeting plane of the rails and are joined to the webs ofthe rails by bolts l), and

Bia a base-plate upon which the bases of the end portions of the railsbear. The fish-plates differ from the usual fish-plates in having attheir lower portion horizontal outwardlyprojecting flanges t', whoselower surfaces are located above the plane of the lower surfaces of thebases of the rails. The baseplate B2 is wider than the base of the rail,and its lateral projecting edge portions are separated from thehorizontal fianges of the fishplates by the spaces b2, as shown. Thelateral edge portions of the base plate are joined to the flanges of thefish-plates by bolts b3, and thus is provided a means of securelyclamping the base of the rail between the base-plate and the heh-plates,it being understood, of course, that the fishplates find bearings on thebase-flanges of the rails. The fish-plates wedge between the top andbottom fianges of the rails in the usual manner, and the rails are thussecurely clamped between the fish-plates themselves. In practice thebase-plate B2 will rest upon the tie or ties, as will be at onceunderstood.

It readily will be understood by those skilled in the art that myinvention provides a construction which not only enables perfect jointsto be made when the construction is installed, but enables the same tobe maintained under the severest usage. The baseplate in connection withthe fis l-plates serves the important function of maintaining the endsof the rails against depression as trains pass over, thereby preventinghammering.

Minor changes' in details of construction within the spirit of myinvention may be made. I-Ience no undue limitation should be understoodfrom the foregoing detailed description.

What I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a rail-joint, the combination with rails, of a flat, flangelessbase-plate supporting the adjacent end portions of the rails,fish-plates embracing the rails and having bearings on the base-flangesat their bases, the base-plate having lateral edge portions projectingbeneath the fish-plate flanges and separated therefrom by spaces, boltsjoining the fishplates and passing through the webs of the rails,whereby the rails are clamped between the fish-plates, and boltsconnecting the fishplate flanges with the lateral portions of the baseplate wholly outside the edges of the base-flanges of the railsvandhaving bearingsy on the fish-plate flanges and on the marginal portionsof the base-plate outside the base of the rail, whereby the base-flangesof the rails are securely clamped and the springiness of the metal aidsin maintaining a tight joint, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

VILLIAM DAVES.

In presence of- T. W. TRENKLE, W. J. MULLINs.

